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Tigertones

Tigertones

Other license. Photo credit: Tigertones

The Princeton Tigertones are an internationally known all-male collegiate a cappella group founded by Henry G. Parker '48 in 1946. The group was seeking an alternative to the existing opportunities for vocal performance on campus. It is rumored that on one enchanted evening in 1946 the original group’s first performance was the singing of the Princeton classic “The Orange Moon” in beautiful four-part harmony, under a table in the tap room of Princeton's famous Nassau Inn. The group's inaugural arrangements were barbershop standards like “Coney Island Baby”, “Alexander’s Ragtime Band” and a Princeton University anthem known as "The Orange Moon”. The Tigertones, known informally as "The Tones", now draw from a repertoire of nearly a hundred songs that have been arranged exclusively by members of the group, and which include traditional choral arrangements, barbershop quartet standards, modern jazz, American Songbook standards and contemporary pop culture hits. The group has produced thirty-two albums. In addition to performances on Princeton's campus, and for formal parties at the Seven Sisters, the group does touring which began in the 1950’s with repeated visits to Bermuda. The tradition of the biennial World Tour was inaugurated in 1987. These tours are five or six weeks in the summer. The group has traveled across the United States, Europe, and Asia to perform in such storied venues as New York City’s Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, London’s Barbican Center and aboard the Queen Elizabeth II. The Tones have performed before heads of state including President Bill Clinton and the late Yitzhak Rabin, and performed three times at the White House for an audience that included President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama. A 1995 concert benefiting the American Red Cross, held in Carnegie Hall with the Harvard Krokodiloes and Yale Whiffenpoofs began a tradition of benefit concerts featuring the three singing groups. This group has built a strong community of members across generations. The Tones gathered in 2022 to celebrate seventy-five years of maintaining a culture of good friends and good music, and bringing this spirit to audiences across the globe.